Theoretical exploration of uranyl complexes of a designed polypyrrolic macrocycle: structure/property effects of hinge size on Pacman-shaped complexes

A polypyrrolic macrocycle with naphthalenyl linkers between the N(4)-donor compartments (L(2)) was designed theoretically according to its experimentally-known analogues with phenylenyl (L(1)) and anthracenyl (L(3)) linkers. The uranyl and bis(uranyl) complexes formed by this L(2) ligand have been examined using scalar-relativistic density functional theory. The calculated structural properties of the mononuclear uranyl-L(2) complexes are similar to those of their L(1) counterparts. The binuclear L(2) complexes exhibit a butterfly-like bis(uranyl) core in which a linear uranyl is coordinated in a side-by-side fashion to a cis-uranyl unit. The calculated Udouble bond, length as m-dash]O bond orders in the uranyl-L(2) complexes indicate partial triple bonding character with the only exceptions being the U-O(endo) bonds in the U(2)O(4) core of the butterfly-shaped binuclear complexes. Overall, the bond orders agree with the trends in the calculated Udouble bond, length as m-dash]O stretching vibrational frequencies. Regarding the bis(uranyl) L(1), L(2) and L(3) complexes, the phenylenyl-hinge L(1) complexes adopt a butterfly-like and a T-shaped isomer in the oxidation state of U(vi), but only a butterfly-like one in the U(v), which differs from that of the naphthalenyl-hinge L(2) complexes as well as the lateral twisted structure of the anthracenyl-hinge L(3) complexes. The intramolecular cation-cation interactions are found in the L(1) and L(2) complexes, but are absent in the L(3) complexes. Finally, using model uranyl transfer reactions from the L(1) complexes, the formation of the mononuclear L(2) complexes is calculated to be a slightly endothermic process. This suggests that it should be possible to synthesize the L(2) complexes using similar protocols as employed for the L(1) complexes.